Dispensing machine



April 25, 1933. L, w LOWTHER 1,905,180

DISPENSING MACHINE Filed March 20, 1928 8 Sheets-Sheet l $5 R Q w Q ri Q I a a A \I [I] N Q a 4 7 T H Q Q 43 a H 5 H WITNESSES: INVENTOR:

' Ieonard Wlowiiwz;

W ATTORNL).

A ril 25, 1933. w. LOWTHER DISPENSING MACHINE Filed March 20, 1928 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR: [Iona-rd 1M1mwfiwr,

WITNESSES:

A7 TORNEYI A ril 25, 1933. L LOWTHER 1,905,180

DISPENSING MACHINE Filed March 20, 1928 8 SheetsSheet s & ATTORNEY.

April 25, 1933. L, w LOw-THER 1,905,180

DISPENSINQ MACHINE Filed March 20, 1928' a sheets-sheet 5 Ilia--5- WIN/55235.- "INVENTOR:

' 1201mm? WZowihaz;

ATTORN'E April 25, 1933. w LQWTHER 1,905,180

DISPENSING MACHINE Filed March 20, 1928 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 Ills--7- I WITNESSES: I N VEN TOR:

6 9 Zeonand WLowihen April 5, 1933. L. w. LOWTHER 1,905,180

DISPENSING MACHINE Filed March 20, 1928 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 /f I i h w 96 0 92 w 91 31 8.9

INVENTOR: 1 0mm Winwiiwz;

ATTORNEY.

April 25, 1933. w LOWTHER 1,905,180

DISPENSING MACHINE Filed March 20, 1928 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 TIE- lU- Leonard IMLawWwr,

Patented Apr. 25, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT osrlcs moiuan w. Low'rm, or nmunommrw mesa; nssrenoa r0 non! & moan! name 00.. or rmunmma, rmmvam n com'ona'rrox or m man mar-name moms Application am m :0, ms. was Io; 003,100.

This invention relates to a dispensing machine and articularly to a machine which is rende operative upon the insertion of a coin or coins.

The object of this invention is to provide mechanism which u n the insertion of a coin and the operatlon of a lever w1ll deliver to the operator a sealed bottle of beverage, such as milk, etc. or a carton filled with the desired commodity.

Another object is to provide such a machine which is so constructed as to keep the bottles or cartons at a constant and predetermined temperature.

Another object is to equip the mach ne with automatic which give notice when the machine isempty.

Still another object is to provide meansfor unloading the machine when it 18 de-' sired to discontinue the use of the same.

According to the invention the machine is provided with a cylindrical casinghaving a cooling compartment in the wall thereof, a slidway or track in the interior of the cylinder, a spider rotatable iu'said cylinder and having partitions which extend 1n roximity to said slideway to form movab e re-' taimn spaces with said slidewayand'caslng for vancing bottles or cartons therein, mechanism coin-set for permitting the handoperation of said spider to deliver a bottle or carton to the operator, means limit ng the rotation of said cylinder to prevent more than one bottle or carton bemg de-' livered therefrom, means for signalling the attendant when the machine is empty, and means for disconnecting the 0 rating mechanism from the spider for filling said cylinder and for em tying the same.

The drawings ustrate an embodiment of the invention and the views therein are as follows Figure 1 is a top plan view of the complete mechanism showing the coin operating device mounted on the wall or partition with the coin slot, coin return cup and operating handle presented to the customer,

Figure 2 is a front view showing a portion of the wall or partition broken out to expose the container,

switch and stop mechanismused Figure 3 is a side view of the container, partly in section, with a part broken away to disclose the mechanism fordeliverin a bottle to a customer, and may be regar ed as being taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1, a T

Figure 4 is a vertical section of the container and spider showing the cylinder loaded with bottles and'this view is'taken on the line-4-4 of Figure 1,

V Figure 5' is a front view'of the container 00 line 6-6 of Figure 2, ll

Fi e 7 is a cross-sectional view on the line -7 of Figure 2, with the front broken away,

F1 re.8 1s a vertlcal sectional view on the hue 8-8 of Figure 1,

Figure 9 is a section taken on the line -9-9 of Figure 6, and shows; the signal when loadin the container, and y lgure 10 is a wiring diagram showing the electrical connections for automaticall ringing the alarm when the container is empty. The dispensing machine comprises a contamer 13" and operatingmechanism'M located onthe rear of a artition 16;" an operatmg handle 17, coin s 0t 18 and coin-return cup 19 located on the front of the partition and in full view of the customer.

Bottles or cartons are 'deli'veredthrough" the aperture-'21. The machine has been illustrated as adevice for vendin bottles but may be used for dispensing pac age goods of any descriplon.

The container 13 comprises a cylindrical container or drum 22 having a cast base 23 and has between its outer wall 24: and inter-: mediate concentric wall 26a filling of heat insulating material 27 such as asbestos, celotex or the like. Between the intermediate wall 26 and the'concentric inner wall 28 are a plurality of refrigerating coils 29.

The cylindrical container or drum is provided with a track of slideway 31 which may wire or rod and which is arranged in spir and mounted on short angle sections 32 fastened to the inner wall 28 thereof.

The base 23 is mounted on a pair of supporting members 7 33 which are in turn mount onthe angle bars 34 fastened to the i1;side'of the wall or partition '16, (see Fig. 3

The-base has-a bearing member 36 formed integrally therewith and this bearin member has a shaft 37 extending theret rough and into the tubular hub 38 of a spider 39. On the upper end of the bearing 36 is a ball bearing 41 whose lower race rests on the upper part of said bearing and whose upper race is connected with acollar ,42 pinned to said shaft. This collar is rotatably connected with the tubular hub 38 through ribs 43 on a collar 44 fastened securely to said hub, fitting within complementary slots in the collar 42 pinned ,to said shaft.

It will therefore be seen that upon the turning of the shaft 37, the spider 39 will be rotated while at the same time the entire spider may be lifted vertically from the container.

The spider is provided with a number of supporting members 46 which support the shell 47 and a cover 48 fits on said shell and closes the same to prevent the entrance of any dirt or other matter to the interior thereof. 'The u per end of the hub 38 is also provided with a handle 49 which is securely fastened therein and which extends above the cover 48 and which is utilized for turning' the spider toload or unload the machine.

The shell 47 is provided with a plurality of vertical radial partitions 51 which extend the full length of the same and which with the inner wall 28 of the cylinder-and the tracks 31 form movable retaining spaces for I the bottles or cartons.

The shaft 37 extends below the bottom of the cast base 23 and is provided on its lower end with a beveled gear 52 which meshes with a beveled pinion 53 on a shaft 54 which I operates in the housing 56 and 57 formed integral with said base. This pinion is provided with a thrust bearing 58 and with an idler sprocket 59 on the other side of said bearin The outer end of said shaft 54 is provided with a sleeve 61 which is pinned to said shaft and with a clutch member 62 which is slidably mounted on said sleeve and held against rotation by the key 63. he inner face of the clutch is provided with a series of slots 64 which are adapted to mesh with pins 66 located in the hub 67 of said sprocket. I

The clutch is provided with a seating device which consistsof a spring-pressed ball 68 adapted to drop into the annular grooves 69 on the sleeve 61 when the clutch is moved inward and outward so as to seat the same and releasably hold it in the desired position.

The coil device for locking the mechanism to operate the spider through the operating handle 17 is shown and described in Patent No. 1,421,680, granted July 4th, 1922 to J. Fritsche and now owned and controlled by the assignee hereof. The device as shown in the patent per se forms no part of the invention herein except insofar as it IS rendered adaptable for the operation of the mechanism of. the present invention.

The coin is inserted in the coin slot 18 and asses downward through the guide channel 71 and is positioned in the coin groove 72 from which it drops into one of the sloping notches 73 on the coin wheel 74. If a smaller coin than that required is placed inthe coin slot 18, when it reaches the coin groove it will fall upon the plate 76 and, as this,

plate swings outward u n the operation of the operating handle 1 ,the coin will fall into the return-channel 77 and will be delivered to the operator in the return cup 19.

If, however, the coin is of the pro r size to fit the coin groove 72 and falls into the sloping notch 73, it locks the coin wheel 74 to the shaft 78 so that upon the operation of the operating handle 17 the shaft will be rotated, and as this shaft is provided with a beveled gear 80 meshing with the beveled gear on the disk 85' which-is locked with the coin wheel, the shaft 78 is thus rotated. This shaft 78 is mounted in suitable bearings 79 and 81 and is provided at its inner end'with a s rocket 82 and with a sprocket chain 83 whlch extends over the same and over the sprocket. 59 on the shaft 54.

The coin device is mounted on the frame 86 and is provided with a solenoid 87 which is mounte wall of the guide channel 71. This solenoid is mounted on a platform 89 and insulated therefrom by insulatin blocks 91 upon which the brackets 92 or holdin the coil are fastened so that the said 0011 will be electrically insulated from the frame of the ap aratus. I

he armature 93 of the solenoid is normally adapted to extend a short distance into the interior of the solenoid and is provided at its outer end with a spiral spring 94 whose one end is held in an insulating bracket 96 mounted on a support 97. Fastened to the forward end of the armature 93 is a plunger 98 formed of non-magnetic material which is reduced at its forward end 99 and which, when the armature is drawn into the solenoid, is pushed outward and across the guide channel so that any coin placed thereafter in the coin slot 19 will be stopped and upon operation of the operating handle 17, which operates the plate 76, will be dropped into the return-channel 77 and in line with a slot 88 in the side a .wardj bracket 92 is connected by a wire 102 with a battery 103 and, when the solenoid is operated to push the plunger 98 forward, electrical contact is made between the collar 101 and the frame of the machine as later described in'connection with the Wiring diagram of Figure 10.

The u per face of the beveled gear 52 is provide with a series of slots 104 which are equal in number to the partitions 51 on the spider 39.

The bottom of the cast base 23 is provided with a lug 106 on which a stop bar 107 is pivotally mounted at 108. This stop bar has a finger 109 at its inner end while its outer end is fastened to one end of a spiral spring 111. The other end of the spiral spring is fastened to an arm 112 formed integral with a shank 113 fixedly mounted on the shaft of the operating mechanism.

The cast base 23 of the cylinder is elevated a short distance above the counter 114 on the operating side of the partition 16 and a plate 116 curves from the bottom of the a rture 21 to the bottom of the cast base an is fastened thereto.

The front of the container 13 is provided with a vertical recess 117 registering with the aperture 21 in the partition 16 and the base 23 is provided with a recess 115 radially centered therewith. An arcuate gate 118 is adapted to normally rest in sa1d recess 117 and this gate is rovided with a horizontal plate 120 wh1ch is complementary to the recess 115 and which normally rests therein flush with the upper surface of the cast base 23. A lever 119 is fastened to the plate 120 and said lever is pivotally mounted at 121 on a bracket 122. a The outer end of the lever 119 is provided with a counterweight 123 which may be adjusted as desired in the holes 124 in said lever.

Immediately at the left of the recess 117 and removed therefrom a distance equal to the distance between any two adjacent partitions on the spider 39 at such radius, the cast base 23 ,is provided with a hole 126 and extending below this hole is a'curved wire guide 127 terminating in a delivery pocket 128 for emptying the machine as later explained. 9

Immediately to the right of the recess 117 and mounted above the cast base 23 is a contact 129which is suitably insulated by the insulation 131 from a supporting plate 132.

This supporting plate is mounted on sliding pins 133 passing through the cast base 23 and having heads 134 on their lower ends.

These pins are each provided with a. spiral spring 136 located between the supporting plate 132 and the upper face of-the cast base 23 and with smaller spiral springs 137 located between the bottom of said cast base and the heads 134 on the pins 133. The tension of the springs 136 is slightly greater than the tension of the springs 137 so that when where is no weight on the contact 129, the excess tension on the springs136 will move said contact upward where it will contact with the bottoms of the partitions 51 on the spider 39. The contact 129 is electrically connected through the wire 138 to a battery 139 as will be later explained in connection with the wiring diagram in Figure 10.

Considering Figures 6 and 9, the pad 149 is placed approximately beneath that artition shown to the right of the gate in igure 6 and a post 151 is slidably mounted therein. This post is provided with semicircular grooves 152 and 153 for receiving the ball 154 which is pressed by a spring 156 into slot 157. The slot is closed and tension regulated upon the spring by the plug 158. The inner end of the post is provided with a pin 159 for preventing its removal and the outer end is provided with a pin 161 which is of greater length and which is used for shifting the position of the upper end of the post in the interior of the container. The position of this post is shown in Figure 6' where it, comes in contact when raised with the side of the bottle which is resting upon the contact 129 and which is the next bottle to be fed onto the plate 120 to be delivered through the aperture 21.

Referring now to the wiring diagram of Figure 10, an alarm bell 141 is located at any desirable point and one of the binding posts of this bell is connected by the wire 142 to ground which in this case will be the frame of the'machine. The other binding post is connected by the wire 143 with one end of a single pole single throw switch 144. The other end is connected by a wire 146 with one side of the battery 103. The other side of the battery is connected to the forward bracket 92 of the solenoid and which bracket is electrically connected with the plunger 98. It has been formerly described that the contact 129 is connected by the wire 138 to one side of the battery 148 to ground which is, of course, the frame of the machine.

The use and operation of the improved dispensing machine isv described as follows:

Considering that the container 13 is en-v tirely empty, it is loaded to its capacity,

y pressing the same upward so that the 5 ball 154 will be pressed back from the groove 152 and will drop into the groove 153.

The clutch 62 is pulled outward towards the end of the shaft 54 in order to disconnect the slots 64 therein from the pins 66 in the shank of the sprocket 59 so that upon the turning of the spider 39, the beveled gear 52 will freely rotate the shaft 54 through the beveled pinion 53 regardless of the sprocket connection between the rocket 59 and the sprocket 82 on the shaft 8. In other words, the sprocket 59 is now idle and bottles may be placed on the track or guideway 31 at the top of the machine and as the spider 39 is rotated by the handle 49 they will be passed by the partitions 51 on the spider downward along the track until the machine is filled to its capacity, such as shown in Figure 4.

The post 151 will prevent excessive filling as the first bottle to reach the space immediately to the right of the aperture cannot pass beyond the same until the post has been withdrawn. When the spider 39 will no longer turn in the container, that will serve as a signal to the attendant that the container is full.

The post 151 is now retracted to the position shown in Figure 9 so that it will not interfere with or interrupt the passage of the bottles from the track onto the plate 120 where they are delivered through the aperture to the customer.

The clutch 62 is now pressed back into clutching position which is accomplished by placing sufiicient pressure thereon to lift the ball 68 out of the end groove 69 and drop the same into the groove behind the same on the sleeve 61, and as the clutch is freely 'slidable by reason of the key 63 upon said sleeve, the slots 64 will re-engage the pins 66 so that upon operation of the sprocket 59, the spider will be rotated through the medium of the pinion 53 on the shaft 54 meshing with the bevel gear 52 on the shaft 37 on which said spider operates.

The machine is now ready for vending purposes and the customer places one or more coins, depending upon the shape of the sloping notches 73 on the coin wheel 74, into the coin slot 18 where the coin passes down through the guide channel 71 and into the coin groove 72. If it is of suflicient diameter to s'fill the same, it is passed into one of the $10 ing notches 73 in the coin wheel 74. If 1t is smaller in diameter than the width of said coin groove, it will fall upon the plate 76.

The operating handle 17 is now ressed to the right WhlCh rotates the shaft 5 and the beveled gear 80 thereon and which hitter in turn rotates the beveled gear 85 and,

as the coin has locked the com wheel 74 to the shaft and as the beveled gear 85 is connected to the coin wheel, the shaft 78 will be rotated. The s rocket 82 on the inner end of the shaft 8 will be rotated .therebyand this rotation of the sprocket One of the bottles, in fact the lowermost l one, has been resting on the contact 129 and between the partitions shown directly above the same in Figure 6.

As the shaft 75 of the coin device is rotated, the arm 112 will be raised which will place tension upon the spring 111 so as to cause the finger 109 on the inner end of the stop bar 107 to ride firmly on that part of the upper face of the gear 52 between the slots 104 so that when it reaches the succeeding slot it will enter the same and stop the rotation of the spider. The bottles in the entire container have been advanced by the movement of the partitions 51 on the spider limiting their gravity advance. This, of course, positions the lowermost bottle immediately back of the arcuate gate 118 and the aperture 21 and resting on the plate 120.

As the handle is released and returns to its original position, the arm 112 will reassume its normal position releasing the tension on the spring 111 and allowing the finger on the stop bar 107 to be withdrawn rom the slot so that the machine is again ready for operation.

As the coin wheel 74 rotates, the coins which are dropped into the sloping notches 73 will fall by gravity into a box or collector (not shown).

As the bottle slides from the track or guide 31 onto the plate 120 of the gate 118, its weight will overcome the action of the counterweight 123 and will pull the lever 119 downward so as to dispose the bottle in front of the customer as shown in dotted lines in Figure 3.

When the bottle is removed from the gate the counterweight will immediately draw the same up into the position shown b the full lines in said Figure 3 so that it will be again in position ready to receive the next bottle which is delivered to it by the rotation of the spider.

It will be seen that as a bottle is leaving the contact 129, another bottle is being passed onto the top of the same so that as long as there are any bottles in the container, this contact will be depressed and will not make contact with the partitions 51 of the spider.

However, when the last bottle passes fromthe action of the s rings 138 overcoming the action of the springs 137 and the contact will make contact with the said partitions and the battery 139 will send a current through the wire 147 and through the solenoid 87 where it will complete the circuit through the ground wire 148 and through the frame of themachine back to the partitions of the spider.

The energizing of the solenoid 87 will draw the armature 93 into the same and push the lunger 98 outward so that the collar 101 t ereon will make contact with the guide channel 71 and a complete electrical circuit will be formed from the battery 103, through the wire 102, the collar 101, the channel 71 to the wire 142 thence through the bell, through'the wire 143, the switch 144 and the wire 146 back to the battery. This will signal to the attendant that the container is empty. When the attendants attention has been called to the necessity of replenishing the container, the switch 144 can be opened so that the annoyance of the ringing bell may be eliminated.

When the container 13 has been emptied and the contact 129 is in contact with one or more of the partitions 51 on the spider, the electric circuit from the battery 139 through the solenoid 87 and through said partitions and contact back to the battery will always be maintained until a bottle has been presented ready for dispensing and resting on the contact 129 so as to break contact between it and the said artitions and thus break the electric circuit. Durin all the time that this circuit remains close the reduced portion 99 of the non-magnetic plungmg er 98 will be pressed outward by the magnetic armature 93 which is drawn into the solenoid 87 and this reduced end will bar the passage of the coin from the coin oove 72 into one of the sloping notches o the coin wheel 74; the coin, bem thus held against completing the setting 0 the machine when the o crating handle 17 is turned; the plate 76, w ich is pivotally mounted at 100, will be swung outward, and the coin will be returned to the customer through the channel 77 which leads to the coin return cu 19.

If desired, the container 13 may e emptied in exactly a reverse direction to the manner in which the same is filled, that is to say, the clutch 62 may be drawn outward so as to disengage the slots 64 from the pins 66 on the sprocket 59 which will permit the idle rotation of the shaft 54 and will therefore permit the spider 39 to be rotated in a reverse direction so that the bottles will ride upward on the slideways or tracks 31 and, as they emerge from the top of the machine, they may be 'fted therefrom.

While the machine has been explained as a bottle dispensing apparatus it will be un-.

of the contamer and the spider or by making its height greater or less.

The coin mechanism for setting the machine for operation has been selected as one capable of performing the necessary function but this particular is not essential to the operation of the mac no as other coin setting devices may be incorporated with equally good results.

Of course, the dispensin machine herein illustrated may be modifie and changed in various ways without departin from the invention herein set forth hereafter claimed.

I claim 1. A dispensing device com rising a stationary container having a be spider rotatably mounted in said container on said base plate and means operable for rotating the ider, a chamber between said container an spider for retaining a plurality of articles to be dispensed, a recess in said container for dispen said articles upon the rotation of said spi er and a. stop spring actuated through the spi er rotating means for limiting the rotationv of said spider to the successive dispensing of a single article for each operation of the spider rotating means. 2. article dispensing machine includa having a delivery outlet, a shaft rotata le therein and having means thereon for moving articles along a course in said cas' successively to said outlet, a r on sai shaft, a second shaft having a andle associated therewith and having a pmlon driving connection with the said gear, said gear havin slots in one face thereof, a lever pivo to said casing and having one end riding on the slotted face of said gear, said end of the lever being actuated to project into said notches incident to the o rgltsion of said handle.

3. pen apparatus com risin a cylindrical bod y iaving a floor, a cylindrical drum rotatabl mounted therein, fins extending from said drum, a tra door in said floor at the edge thereof, an a spiral track along the inner wall of said body extending from a point directly above said trap door to said floor.

4. A dispensing device compris' a container, a spider rotatably mounte in the container and having a plurality of partise plate, a

tions forming receptacles for articles to he no wa spiral track in the container for supporting the articles, a platform at .thebottomofsaidtrachano ninginthe container adjacent the plat cm, a lever B ivotally mounted and supporting said platorm, and a weight on sai lever below said pivotal point which is overcome by the weight 0 the article, whereby said platform is moved to deliver said article through 10 said opening.

.5. A dispensing device comp a container, a spider rotatably moun in the container and having a plurality of partitions forming receptacles for articles to be s dispensed, a spiral track in the container for supporting the articles, a platform at the bottom of said track, an opening in the container adjacent the platform, a gate on said platform normally closing the platgo form, a lever pivotally mounted and su porting said platform, and a weight on said ever below said pivotal point WhlOh is overcome by the weight of the article, whereby said platform is moved to deliver said arti- 25 do through said 0 ening.

In testimony w ereo I have signed my name to this specification.

. LEONARD W. LOWTHER. 

